


Fates Entwined

by Violetscented



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Battle, Described by a reviewer as FLUFFY GORE, F/F, Lovers connected by fate, Mild Blood and Gore, Sweet Ending, Weaponry, collaboration with Misslane, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-19
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 04:39:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4377539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violetscented/pseuds/Violetscented
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was created as a collaboration with Misslane. We figured out a story together and then I wrote this fairytale and she made an incredible video. There will be blood, angst and some disturbing scenes in this fic but as you all know by now, my stories always have happy endings. (Our SwanQueen ladies will live happily ever after in this fairytale, I promise!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The fairytale begins

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s note: This story is a bit different for me as it is shorter than my usual fics but also because it is my take on a fairytale. Oh and to clarify; the paragraphs in italics are narrated by an omnipotent storyteller. Thanks to Misslane for suggesting this cooperation, for chalking out the storyline with me, for her patience and most of all for her incredible vid!

_Once upon a time there were two little girls who had been born only a few months apart. One of them was a princess in a prosperous kingdom called Blackthorn and the other was the daughter of a knight in the neighbouring kingdom of Glyndebourne._

_The two kingdoms were at the start of what was going to become a long and gruesome war but the two young girls, a few years away from full womanhood, didn't know that. So when fate threw them together, all they saw was another girl, different but intriguing. At dusk on a fated spring evening their curiosity and need for companionship soon introduced them to each other._

* * *

Emma had always been a brave girl. Having a father for a knight would do that to you, at least if the knight was like Emma's father. Her father was called James Charming and he lived up to his last name, everyone loved him and no one more than his only child, Emma.

The very moment James and his wife Snow realised that their little girl preferred playing with swords to playing with dolls, James took her along to practice swordplay and riding with him almost every day. This meant that Emma was a lot braver and more forward than other girls her age.

That was why when she saw a girl about her age walking aimlessly around the forest all by herself she didn't hesitate to go up and speak to her. Afterwards, she couldn't say why she had done it. After all, she was out here in the woods at dusk on an important mission, not to make friends. No, she was going to go see the  _witch who foretold the future_.

All Emma's friends were afraid to go see the witch. Not just because she had magical powers but because her hut was right at the edge of where Glyndebourne met the enemy kingdom of Blackthorn and everyone knew that the border was sometimes patrolled by guards.

Emma wasn't afraid.  _However_ , she had to admit that she preferred to have someone with her when she did things. Being an only child, she had spent far too much time playing alone and by now she wanted to have friends with her any time she could. Perhaps that was why she had approached the pretty, dark-haired girl walking around the trees with a brooding look.

"Hello there!" Emma said as she stepped right into the girl's view.

"Hello," came the hesitant reply.

"I'm Emma Charming. Who are you?"

The brunette looked the other girl up and down and took in the cranberry-coloured dress which looked nice enough to place the girl above the station of peasant but below her own royal status. "That's an odd last name. My name is Regina."

Emma smiled and shrugged before replying. "Yes, it is a bit peculiar, I know. So, what are you doing out here?"

Regina held her head high but looked at a spot behind Emma as she replied. "Well I'm… I'm…"

"Lost? Oh wow, you're lost aren't you!?" Emma asked with a cheeky yet kind smile.

The anger flared in the young brunette's mahogany eyes. "No! Well… maybe a little. I ran away from my mother and I think I might have run a little too far. It doesn't matter though, I don't want to go back yet and if I truly become lost my mother will find me," Regina said and looked down at the muddy ground which was painting the hem of her yellow dress brown.

Emma's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "That sounds like a neat trick, does she have a very long invisible leash on you?"

Regina pursed her lips at the annoying blonde. "No! She has… magic. She'll find me when she wants me back."

Emma tried to hide her surprise at this, she had been brought up to never be rude. "Oh, alright. So what are you going to do until she finds you? Just amble around and pout?"

"I was not pouting! You can't speak to me like that, I'm a…." Regina broke off. She had been about to say  _princess_ , but she knew that if she told the other girl what she was, the blonde would treat her differently and it was quite nice to have someone talk to her as if she was just a normal girl.

"…you don't even know me," Regina finished instead.

"That's true! But I could get to know you if you came with me to the witch. Unless you're  _too scared_  of course," Emma said with the defiant and mocking tone of a girl her age.

This was exactly the right thing to say to get Regina to come along. The olive-skinned girl might be frightened because she was lost and because she had upset her very strict mother, but she always responded to being  _dared_  to do something with foolish bravado.

"Of course I am not afraid! Fear is for the weak!" Regina replied and could hear how her words might as well have come from the mouth of her mother.

"Great! Then you'll come along with me to see the witch! She can see our future and tell us our fortune," Emma decided and began to stride off in the direction of the witch's hut.

Still unsure of the wisdom in that idea but determined not to seem any less than brave than the taller girl, Regina trudged after her in the sticky mud.

After a while of walking, Regina noticed that her heart was thudding hard and whether or not she would admit it, she was anxious about this venture. After all, she didn't know this girl! What if the pale blonde was leading her into a trap of some kind?

"Hey! I'm…. I'm not certain this is a good idea. Not that I'm frightened or anything, it's just that it's getting dark and we should get back before we can't see where we are going," Regina said and tried to sound brave and decisive.

Emma knew that Regina was right, they should turn back, but she also knew that they were almost there and that she didn't want to give up when they had come this far. Besides, she was curious not only about this witch but about her new companion as well. She turned and faced Regina and took the shorter girl's hands in hers.

"Look, it's not that dark yet and we are almost there. Trust me, I know these woods well. Just hold my hand and everything will be alright. You  _have_  to come with me because everyone else is too scared, they are not brave like you and me.  _They_  would never dare to be walking alone in the woods," she said and smiled a wicked, little conspiratorial smile at Regina.

Regina said nothing, she just clenched her jaw in determined silence. Emma took that as agreement and began to walk again with Regina's hand in hers.

Soon they neared the hut, which seemed to be mainly made out of branches and molten leaves. For a while they just stood there, hand in hand, looking at it.

Regina frowned. "I don't want to go in there! It looks filthy," she growled and shook her head.

"Oh, you can wash when you get back home," the blonde said dismissively and walked towards the opening.

She entered it, with Regina in tow, and saw a fire burning in the middle of the hut. Peculiar things hung from the ceiling and there was a strange, musty smell in the air.

After a while Emma spotted the witch laying down in a dark corner of the hut.

"She seems to be asleep," Emma whispered and watched the woman intently.

"Well anyone who naps at dusk is either drunk or lazy," Regina said tersely in a badly veiled attempt to hide her discomfort.

But just then the princess backed up and bumped against one the items hanging from the roof, she gave a startled yelp and that woke the witch.

The witch sat up and shouted at them to get out. Emma felt her heart race with excitement, she was actually here and actually talking to a real witch! She put her bravest face on and tried to sound mature and intimidating as she spoke.

"We'll leave as soon as you tell our fortune!"

The witch regarded the cocky blonde and decided that there was no evil in the girl, despite her rudeness.

With a lazy drawl the witch asked, "and why should I do that?"

"So you can get rid of us of course! Tell our fortune and we'll go away and tell all our friends that you are not here anymore. That way no one will disturb you!"

The witch scoffed but eventually agreed. If nothing else, it would break up the monotony of the evening. She picked up a sharp knife and played with it as she said, "very well, but to see your future I must taste your blood. Do you dare to cut yourself and bleed for me, girl?"

Emma felt her heartrate increase even more and her palms get sweaty. But she was no stranger to neither pain nor blood, having cut herself on swords a few times in her life. She took the knife and cut into her thumb.

She had barely brought the knife away from the cut before the witch grabbed her hand and pulled the blonde to her, bringing her thumb up to her mouth and sucking the blood from it.

Behind her, Emma could hear Regina gasp and she pulled her hand away from the witch in shock and disgust.

The witch kept her gaze locked with Emma's as she spoke.

"You will have an unusual life. Unlike other girls you won't grow up to become a maid, a wife or a lady of the night. You will become a knight, and just as most knights… you will fall in love with a beautiful woman."

Near the entrance of the hut they could hear Regina draw in breath in a quiet hiss. However, Emma, who had always preferred to look upon other girls than boys, was not at all surprised at these words and so she didn't move a muscle.

The witch continued, her sooted eyes still trained on Emma. "You have already met this woman, she's your companion here tonight. From your blood I can taste many outcomes of decisions in your life but no matter what you do, Emma Charming, your fate will always be entwined with hers," the witch said dramatically and pointed to Regina.

"No matter what separates the two of you, no matter how you try to escape each other, you are bound together by fate. You will both see suffering and you will both carry great responsibility on your shoulders and you will always be the only ones to understand each other fully. Now go, before I decide that your blood is too sweet for me not to drink all of it," the witch hissed and punctuated her words with an eerie laugh.

Emma stood still, frozen in place, still not sure if the witch was actually seeing the future or just making things up. But if she was making things up, how did she know Emma's name and that she planned to be a knight like her father?

The witch kept laughing and suddenly Emma felt Regina grab her arm and say in a voice which suddenly sounded more angry than frightened, "let's leave, this woman is clearly mad and we have wasted enough of our time here!"

Emma allowed herself to be pulled out of the hut and back the way they had come. When they arrived back where they had met, Regina closed her eyes and listened. The wind was blowing through the trees and it was carrying a voice, a stern voice that said Regina's name.

Regina sighed and muttered, "my mother is trying to find me. She'll be here any second now. You best hurry on home, she won't like it if there is an audience here when she finds me."

Emma looked around, more spooked by the whispering voice than she had been by the witch's hut. She looked at the clearly rattled brunette and asked "are you sure you want me to go? I could stay and explain to your mother that it was me who made you stay out for this long?"

Regina shook her head and smiled sadly. "No, she'd just be more enraged. At least if I am alone she will believe that I was just lost."

The voice in the trees was sounding louder and closer now.

"Just go!" Regina shouted at Emma and there was something in the shorter girl's voice that made it impossible for Emma to disagree. The blonde hurried back towards her village, half running in the sticky mud, turning only once to wave to the intriguing dark-haired girl.

* * *

_Later that night, as they were both on their way to their warm beds, the two girls remembered every moment of that evening but somehow it felt very distant. As if it had been a dream, or a story they had gotten themselves lost in._

_As the years passed, that night started to feel more and more like a figment of their imagination, until one day neither of them were sure if it had happened at all. As they were both practical young women, they therefore put the memory out of their minds, burying it deep in the treasure chest of hazy childhood memories and never spoke of it to anyone._


	2. Thrown together again by fate

_The young girls grew up to be young women. Two young women who spurned every suitor who dared to woo them and who constantly grew bored of the company of their friends and family. Two young women who always felt like something was lacking in their lives. Two young women who felt an unrest which they couldn't identify as what it actually was - missing each other._

_Emma still trained with her father and helped his squire with smaller tasks, at least until her mother caught her and made her change out of her britches into a dress and go spend time with other girls her age._

_Emma knew that her mother only wanted what was best for her but she itched to get out of her dress the second her mother helped her into it. It became a symbol for all the things in her life that didn't feel was her, like the expectation that she should be interested in boys and the pressure to always be a quiet and dignified young beauty._

_In her castle across the border, Regina felt trapped as well, but not in her dresses… oh no, she loved her dresses! She felt trapped under her mother's and the kingdom's gaze._

_Her hand in marriage was often being bartered off as a particularly precious jewel to princes of neighbouring kingdoms but luckily, so far, no marriage had been agreed upon. Her mother was always looking for a better deal._

_The only time Regina felt free was when she was resting her head against her father's shoulder while he read her books about fairytales or old adventure stories. Oh and when she was riding of course. If there was one thing Regina loved, it was to ride, and that was what she was doing the next time she met Emma._

* * *

She had been riding for a long time and left the beaten path behind quite a while ago. In fact, she wasn't sure where exactly she was anymore, she had ridden too far into the forest. Too far in her attempt to calm herself after a particularly venomous row with her mother.

She stopped to get her bearings, looking around to see if there was anything familiar. There was. There was a young blonde. Regina didn't know why she looked so familiar, but she did. The blonde was standing there wearing a dress and a scowl, just watching Regina.

"You've ridden that horse almost into exhaustion. Look at him, he's almost foaming!" Emma accused while pointing to the soaked horse.

"That is none of your concern," Regina snapped, mainly because she knew that the blonde was right.

She made a mental note to spoil the gelding, named Malus, rotten when she got back to the castle. She would have the stable boy pamper the horse in every way the second she got back, which hopefully would be very soon as Regina felt that the horse was not the only thing which had gotten too warm, her riding coat was starting to feel like it was lined with fur!

"Fine! I'm just saying you should take better care of him," Emma muttered and walked up to the horse to stroke his wet flank.

"Well, I didn't  _mean_  to ride this far nor this fast, now did I? I was just…" Regina broke off.

"Just trying to ride away from your troubles?" Emma asked with a knowing expression.

Regina's tone changed from haughty annoyance to something a little more hesitant as she mumbled, "well, yes."

"I know that feeling. It only works for a little while though. Sooner or later you have to ride back," Emma said with a shrug.

Regina peered down at the blonde standing by the horse. Emma looked back up and Regina felt stricken at how the blonde's sea-green eyes shone in the sunlight. It was mesmerising and Regina couldn't stop staring at the blazing eyes which flickered in timid blues and wild greens.

"What are you looking at?" Emma asked with a confused frown.

Regina cleared her throat. "Oh… nothing. I was just admiring the colour of your eyes, dear," she said and sat up straight, as collected and dignified as she could be with her mind still dazed from how long she had stared into the sea-green orbs.

Suddenly Emma had a distinct feeling that she didn't want the sneering but stunning rider to leave. Before she had the time to think about her words she spluttered out, "they change to bright purple when you see them up close. Want me to help you down so you can have a closer look?"

Regina laughed at the silly comment but still felt a peculiar curiosity about the slightly taller woman. Something in the way the blonde was looking at her and speaking felt almost like flirtation, and it felt strangely… enjoyable coming from a beautiful woman instead of a man.

Regina could easily dismount her horse by herself but if there was flirtation in the air, she certainly knew how to play that game, and she felt strangely tempted to see how far she could take it before the blonde flinched. How long would it take for the brash young woman to start looking at her like normal girls looked at each other and not the way the taller girl was looking at her now, with that smirk and that unnerving intensity and appreciation in her eyes?

Regina elegantly swung her slender, left leg over to Emma's side and held her arms out as she cooed "fine, I'll accept your gallant offer."

Suddenly Emma's elven face lit up completely and she looked like she had been waiting a very long time for someone to play the same game as her. Or perhaps she was just overjoyed that  _Regina_  wanted to play? She moved closer to grab hold of Regina and took a firm but respectful grip as she helped the brunette off the large gelding.

As she helped her down she hadn't taken into account the angle from which Regina was descending, which meant that Regina landed very close to Emma and suddenly stood face to face with the slightly taller woman. She could feel Emma's breathe on her face and it felt cool against her heated skin. The blonde smelled of hay, sunshine and something which Regina couldn't place.

"What's that smell on your breath?" Regina asked, without making any effort to move from Emma's personal space.

Emma made no attempt to move away either, although she did look slightly unnerved by the shorter woman's close proximity. "Mint leaves. My mother makes me chew them when I have a painful tummy, it seems to help."

" _Stomach_ , dear," Regina corrected with a smirk. "Only children say  _tummy_  and you look like a woman grown and bled to me."

Regina's way of speaking was in many ways an echo of her mother and the many court advisors Queen Cora surrounded herself with. Regina knew it was seen as very forthright and possibly too mature for her tender age, but she liked shocking people by speaking her mind and using language which was educated enough for her class but pertaining to subjects that were less than ladylike. The young Princess Regina liked to see people  _blush and squirm._

Emma Charming did neither. She just squinted at Regina and sighed "mm, afraid so, I'm expecting my moonsblood any day now actually. Mother says that is why I am feeling so moody. She's probably right, I always get like this before I bleed."

Regina looked impressed. Emma hadn't even blinked! Still standing regally erect and far too close, Regina smiled wickedly as she asked, "what else do you feel when it strikes? I always feel very…  _needy_."

Regina was certain that this time she would make the beautiful blonde flinch. There was no way anyone could mistake what sort of  _needs_  she was referring too, her tone had dropped low and her rich voice seemed to promise hot caresses and desirous moans.

Emma seemed to consider the words but she didn't look uncomfortable. After a while she nodded, brushing the tip of her nose against Regina's as she did so, and said, "yes, I usually end up filching all the treacle and jams from the cupboard and scoffing it all in my bed while my parents sleep. Oh and honey if we have it!"

Regina raised an eyebrow in an unimpressed grimace. Was the blonde really naïve enough to think that her seductive tone had been about  _food_? In disappointment, Regina stepped away from Emma and smoothed down her riding coat.

Emma looked perplexed. She was old enough to know she had missed something important there, but young enough not to be quite sure what it was. She wanted to impress Regina though so she thought long and hard and finally ventured, "or did you mean some other kind of needs?"

Regina looked up at the blonde again and then gave a slow wink and another suggestive smirk. The blonde didn't blush as she suddenly understood, but she did start to fidget with her hair and bashfully look away.

 _That's more like it_ , Regina thought and once again started to relish this game. Why was this so much more delicious than playing with her suitors or the other men at court? Why did it feel so natural and pleasant to be around Emma?

"Yes, I meant other needs. But I can see that I have made you uncomfortable," Regina paused as she didn't know what to call the blonde. "Sorry, what's your name," she asked.

Suddenly Emma stared at her as if she had seen a ghost and it took her a while before she quietly said, "Emma. And for some reason… I think your name is Regina?"

Regina stared back at Emma. There was that sense of familiarity again. That feeling that she should recognise this woman. Something buried deep, something hazy and dusty, seemed to beckon from the back of her mind. She could feel the chill air from an early spring evening and the sense of fear when she entered an ill-omened, dark hut.

"Were you… are you… have we met?" Emma asked with her pink lips slightly parted in wonder and confusion.

Regina didn't like this. This felt abnormal, and she felt like she couldn't control this situation at all. She clasped her arms around her torso as if she were cold. "I think we have. I think we went to see a fortune-telling witch together once. But I… I thought that was something I dreamt."

Emma staggered a few steps back and whispered, "yes. You're the dark-haired girl that old hag said I was connected to by fate. You're the one she said…" Emma broke off.

Regina filled in the alarming end of the sentence. "… you'd fall in love with."

They looked at each other for a while, both confused and frightened.

Then Regina gave a laugh, which sounded shriller than her usual low, melodic laugh and said, "obviously she just said that to get rid of us, though. You'll fall in love with some nice blacksmith and I'll marry a prince and we'll both be very happy."

Emma frowned, the eeriness yielding to annoyance. "Why do I get a blacksmith and you a prince?"

Regina scoffed but dipped her head in apologetic acknowledgement. "I'm sorry, I do not know your parents position in society. Perhaps a wealthy merchant or the owner of an alehouse would be better?"

"My father is a knight! And I plan to be one too so you can keep your merchants, blacksmiths and alehouse owners. I was just wondering why you thought you could do so much better? Why could you win a prince?" Emma growled with her hands on her hips.

No one ever spoke to Regina like this, certainly not someone her own age. It made Regina's blood heat up in her veins and she  _liked_  that. Suddenly she felt far away from dusty books and boring tea parties.

"I can, and will, win a prince because I am a  _princess_. I am Princess Regina of Blackthorn and the only reason I am not expecting you to curtsy is that I seem to recall that you were a Glyndebourne brat!" Regina drawled condescendingly.

Emma felt anger rising and was about to scream at the rude brunette but then she stopped and looked closely at Regina. That pleased grin on the pretty, royal face… the princess  _wanted_  an argument. Well, she was getting one.

Emma calmed herself a little and scoffed instead of shouting. "Why would I curtsy to someone from your snobby, prissy kingdom?"

"Because I am above you, you impertinent little wench," Regina hissed with her lips in a snarl.

Emma could see a small scar on Regina's lip and had to push done the urge to ask where the dark-haired princess had gotten it. She reminded herself that the stuck-up little trollop was insulting her.

"Above me? You seem to be at least a couple of inches below me, short stuff," Emma burst out.

Regina's mahogany-coloured eyes suddenly sparkled with rage. "I. Am. Not. Short. It's you who are tall as a damned oak! No man will want to share his home and life with a girl as tall as you," she lashed out.

"Good," Emma growled. "I told you that I didn't want a man to share my life with!"

"No, you want  _me,_  just like the witch said!" Regina snarled back.

Suddenly they both froze. There it was. The thing they couldn't talk about. The ridiculous notion that fate had bound them together. Regina could hear her blood thrum in her ears and feel her heart thud hard in her chest. This felt awkward and frightening and  _yet_ … yet she had the ludicrous impulse to  _kiss_  the taller girl in front of her.

Emma had gone back to fidgeting with her hair with one hand and fruitlessly trying to put her other hand in a pocket, one which probably would have been there in her preferred britches but was sadly lacking in her dress.

Regina knew she had to leave. She wasn't supposed to be on this side of the border and she certainly wasn't supposed to be talking to a knight's daughter from the enemy kingdom. Especially not about a possible fated romantic connection between them.

She didn't want to leave, though. She wanted to stay here and bicker with Emma and see those sea-green eyes shine in the sunlight again. Most of all, she wanted to kiss those pink lips and see if they tasted of mint.

As she backed away from Emma and towards Malus, who was eating grass calmly behind her, she couldn't help but stare at Emma's lips. Maybe it was that which gave Emma the bravery to do what she did, or maybe the knight's daughter just couldn't help herself.

The blonde moved forward and placed her lips a hairsbreadth from Regina's. She hovered there, as if to let the brunette move away if she wished, and this gesture settled it for Regina. The person she was going to kiss might not be her  _noble prince_ , but Emma was more of a gentleman than any man Regina had come across.

Regina smiled into the almost touch of Emma's lips and then moved forward, locking their soft lips in a tender but inexperienced kiss.

Regina had seen people in the court kissing and knew that it wasn't just a matter of pushing lips together. She had seen the married couples, and some adulterous ones too, move their lips in a strange dance. She tried replicating that and tasted Emma's pink lips in different ways and angles. Emma just quietly moaned and gently took a hold of Regina's corseted waist under the riding coat.

The blissful kiss seemed to last forever and yet be over in a second. It broke off when Emma moaned a little louder and Regina felt something she had never felt before, it was an intense pull in her lower abdomen followed by a heady dizziness.

Regina had known the physical signs of her own arousal as she explored her own body in her royal bed at night, but this was something else. This felt so much stronger and so much more… important. Emma felt  _so important_. It frightened her and she retreated towards her horse again.

"I-I have to leave. I can't be seen with someone beneath me… nor someone from Glyndebourne. We c-can't meet again," she stammered and began to mount Malus.

Emma wanted to help her up, or even better, convince her to stay, but she seemed to be frozen in place. So all she did was stand there and look forlornly after the beautiful brunette who rode off toward the border back to Blackthorn.

* * *

_In the following years the war, which had been slowly drudging along between the two kingdoms, escalated until there was no family untouched by the battles and the death they left in their wake. The border between the kingdoms became more and more heavily guarded and no one could now pass between the two kingdoms without a royal dispatch._

_Both Emma and Regina spent these years frequently thinking about each other but always dispelling the unwelcome thoughts. But no matter how they tried, they could not get each other out of their minds._

_There was an emptiness that neither of them understood but that they both feared, they feared it because deep down they knew the only thing that could fill it was each other's company, and that they could never have. In spite of this, life moved on as normal._

_Despite her parents' worries, Emma became a knight and slowly the people around her got used to it. Regardless of their cruel jokes and snide comments they grew to accept her as a true knight as they watched her fight men twice her size and often win! Her quick reflexes, incredible stamina and nimble movements meant she was faster and often more effective, both in swordfights and tourneys. Of course it didn't hurt that her lithe female form meant she was harder to hit._

_Regina grew into a headstrong but capable leader and when she was 25 she took over the throne from her ailing father. Her mother took the title of Queen-mother and split her time between looking after her infirm husband and guiding her now reigning daughter, in both her ruling of the country and her fledgling magic. Regina made a few attempts to find a solution to the constant war with Glyndebourne but her efforts were always met with contempt and even worse atrocities from her foe._

_So the war carried on, bloody and ruthless, and on Emma's 28_ _th_ _birthday a battle to overshadow all battles was started. The king of Glyndebourne decided to attack the royal castle of Blackthorn, and its surrounding village, after having battled through all the men stationed at the border. They called this dark day The Battle of Blood._


	3. The battle of blood

_The day of The Battle of Blood had come. All the knights still alive and hale had been called in as the king wanted his best fighters for this very important encounter._

_This day had been named due to the vast amounts of casualties expected and Snow fought hard to make her husband and only child stay home, but they were knights under the King's command and so they had to go or be put in chains. With grim faces they rode off to Blackthorn to fight._

_Regina had decided to lead the main force of her army herself. All of the court advisers, highborn knights and both of Regina's parents had tried to convince her not to. Her mother even going as far as to say that she was being a selfish fool choosing to go out fighting for glory and simply trying to avoid her duty of getting married and giving the kingdom an heir. Since those words, Cora who was now known as the Queen-mother, hadn't even spoken to Regina._

_The truth was that Regina couldn't stand the idea of not joining the fight. Partly, because these people would die in her name and a good leader should be with them and partly because she just didn't trust anyone else to make the decisions. The fact that Glyndebourne's combatants had gotten this close was a clear sign that her commanders were useless. She and her magic would hopefully help turn the tide and keep the enemy at bay._

_And so they all prepared for war._

* * *

Regina was in the large Royal armoury. The last pieces of her custom-made armour were being attached to her right arm. It was a fully functional set of armour but it was made to be ornamental as well. Regina would stand out in her blackened plate armour and the coat of arms of Blackthorn, a crown wreathed in thorny blackberry branches, sat proudly in the middle of her breastplate. She was meant to instil courage in her men and fear in her enemy.

She had read up on magic warfare and decided to make use of fire. Fireballs should do it, easy to create and easy to throw. She would cook the Glyndebourne knights alive inside their armour!

The castle's armourer and bladesmith, who had just helped her into the armour he had spent weeks making for her, stood back and looked her over.

"Aye, my Queen. You look a sight! That should make the king of Glyndebourne either hard at the front of his britches or soft in his bowels. Or most likely both!"

Regina laughed, well used to and quite fond of the man's coarseness.

"That's the general idea, Mister Pike. Now, I suppose I should have some sort of weapon. I doubt I'll use it much as I expect to mainly use my magic, but it would look odd if I rode into battle with nothing visible to defend myself with. I would ask for a crossbow but I always hated those things. No, I need something for close combat. What sword would you recommend for me? Longsword or short sword?"

Pike frowned. "Neither, your Majesty! As you are not used to swords, I would recommend another weapon… a longer one so that the bastards see that you can hit 'em from a distance! That way you can get a blow in before they come close."

Regina pursed her lips, which were painted the colour of blackberries today. "I suppose I could carry a spear or something in one hand and make fireballs with the other. I wasn't planning on carrying a shield anyway. However, won't it look rather… unfitting for my station if I use something else than a sword?"

Pike ran his hand over his bearded chin and gave a hoarse chuckle. "If you pardon me for saying so, my Queen, you already don't look much like a knight. I wouldn't think that your enemies will be stopping dead in their tracks to snigger at you for using some form of poled weapon. I'd worry more about having a weapon you can use to take their heads off with!"

Regina gave a faint smile and dipped her head in agreement. "Fine, what would you recommend? It will have to be something which is not too heavy and which I can use on horseback."

Pike looked around the armoury. Every bit of the walls were covered in swords, maces, axes, knives and even clubs. But what drew Pike's gaze was the many ornate stands filled with halberds, staffs, long-axes, spears, polearms and more exotic poled weapons that were placed in the middle of the room.

Regina followed his gaze. In the second stand was something that stood out. No. It more than stood out…  _it called to her_.

It looked like a long, black pole which was covered in swirling lines with a sword blade at the edge. The pointed blade, which had a single fleur de lis on either side, looked incredibly sharp and changed into a jagged edge just where it met the pole. The blade was in a dark metal and matched the black pole nicely. It looked like this weapon had been made for her armour, but the last thing Regina wanted was for Pike to laugh at her because she chose a weapon for its colour.

No, it was so much more than that, this weapon looked fated to be hers. She loved the beauty of its adornments but most of all she loved the cruelty of the sharp tip combined with the painfully jagged side. This weapon was meant to puncture, slash and rend in the most wicked of ways and  _she wanted it_. It would keep her feeling safe and fierce.

She made her voice sound neutral as she pointed to it. "Pike, what is that long dark one over there. The one next to the halberd with the Royal insignia."

Pike went over and picked up the long, dark weapon she had spoken of. "This? Oh now, this is a rare one, your Majesty. It's a two-handed glaive. Glaives are usually made more for hand to hand combat but this one is two-handed and therefore suited for riders."

He looked down at it and weighed it in his hands. Then with an experienced and forceful move he swung it to his side. It made the most incredible swooshing sound as it cut through the air.

"It doesn't feel very heavy, your Majesty. I think it will be useable for you when you are atop a filly. It will need to be sharpened a little as it has been standing here for many a years, but I can do that in a tick if this is the weapon you want?"

Regina smiled as if she had just chosen a new lover. "Yes. Yes, this is the weapon I want. Sharpen it and bring it to me."

Pike nodded and left the room. Regina realised she was sad to see him go, he was the only one who was actually helping her and not complaining about her decision or trying to talk her out of it.

Regina felt a small pang of pain at the fact that neither of her parents had come to see her before the battle. She could understand it with her father, his mind was going and more and more frequently he would even forget who she was. But her mother. No, that she couldn't forgive so easily.

She looked out through the window and saw that the sun was rising now. Soon she would have to lead her troops, just as soon as her two-handed glaive was sharpened for her. She called for her squire to ensure that her stallion was being prepared and saddled.

On the other side of the battlefield, Emma rode behind her father into the fray. Everywhere she looked there was fighting and the noise of it was overwhelming! Screams, hooves and the clanking of swords filled the air and made her disorientated.

She saw her father strike at an already bloody foot soldier swinging a mace, Charming's first swordsblow took the man's helmet off and the second took his head.

Suddenly a rider approached Emma and she drew her sword and engaged him. They were well-matched and fought for quite a while atop their horses. Luckily Emma managed to bury her sword in the gap of the man's armour just in his armpit. When he toppled off his horse in pain she simply rode over him and engaged the next knight.

As she fought this man she heard him laugh and shout about her being either a small boy or a lass, but she ignored it and kept swinging. After all, the more he was laughing… the more he wouldn't see the killing blow coming.

As her foe tried to recover his balance from swinging a swordsblow which had bounced off her breastplate, Emma took the chance and shoved the tapered end of her bastard-sword through the hole in the man's visor-less helmet. Blood sprayed out and some of it splattered against her shield. She looked down at it and saw that it had almost covered the swan that Emma had taken as her personal coat of arms.

She had chosen a swan because the elegant bird was an important symbol for her since the first time she beat a seasoned knight in a tournament. As soon as he had toppled of his horse he had cried out, "ogre's balls! How could that scrawny little swan fell a big bear like me?"

The on-lookers had laughed and the nickname of The Swan Knight had been called after her through the celebration and stuck with her ever since.

Emma didn't have time to shake the blood off her shield though, because a new foe now demanded her attention and when she had beaten him, another and then finally there was one who managed to get a good blow in and knock her off her horse.

She got up, picked up her sword and was ready to continue the fight from the ground but there was no need as another Glyndebourne knight rode past and engaged her enemy.

Emma didn't get much of a breather though as a man wielding a very large axe came towards her, she located her shield and had just enough time to pick it up and block his first move, then she attacked him with a wild war cry. This man was a good match for her though and so the fight continued for quite a while in the confusing mass of swords and men around them.

Regina had led her forces into the fray and thrown enough fireballs to have started small fires all over of the battle field. With her fireballs and her ability to magically push enemies away and make them fly high in the air, she had managed to kill her fair share of the enemy and her men were all impressed. Regina was proud as well but strangely… she was slightly disappointed. Not once had she had occasion to use her beautiful two-handed glaive. She began to ride around to find fighters on the ground she could try out her beautiful weapon on.

Having just knocked her last enemy out, Emma suddenly felt fire licking at the wisps of blonde hair that had come loose from her pinned up braid under the helmet. She took the helmet off and started to pat away the small flames from her hair.

That was when she felt it. It was a glancing cut from something particularly sharp and the angle showed that it came from up above and slightly behind her. The cut wasn't all that deep but it went all along the side of her neck and finally opened up her throat. The blood sprayed and she held up her hands to cover the cut.

She turned and glanced up at her attacker. She was faced with what looked like a woman in dark armour, in her hands was a long glaive and that was what had been her undoing. Emma didn't get a chance for a closer look as she felt her mind hazy at the sudden blood loss and pain. She allowed herself to topple to the ground and laid on her back, blinking blindly and giving wet, gurgling breaths.

Regina sat atop her horse. Her face, which had shown victory and bloodlust a moment ago when she finally found a vulnerable enemy on the ground, suddenly turned into a mask of horror. She recognized that pale face, those green eyes and that blonde hair.  _Emma_.

Quickly Regina stepped off her horse and crouched down over Emma, completely ignoring the battle around them. Suddenly the danger didn't seem to matter to her and neither did winning or losing. Icy fear bloomed in her stomach and spread its cruel tendrils through her chest.

Emma was fading fast, Regina could see the blood pumping out of the gash on her neck in great speed. The blonde looked pale and her lips were almost white. Regina tried to think. She had to save her!

Two men fighting with flails crashed into Regina's horse and the loud neigh the large stallion gave seemed to wake Regina up. Before she did anything else, she had to get Emma away from the fighting! She used her magic to transport them, happy that her mother had finally taught her that particular trick just a few months ago.

Soon they found themselves in the forest. Regina had thought about try to find a field medic but she knew that physicians would be useless against a wide gash over the throat like this one. Regina wasn't sure why she had picked this spot of all places, but it felt strangely right and bittersweet that they seemed to be in the same spot by the border where they had first met.

Still crouched down over the blonde, she stared at the beautiful woman who continued to slowly bleed out. The blood was pumping out slower now and the light was fading from the Emma's sea-green eyes. Regina felt those icy tendrils of fear and panic seemingly grip her heart and squeeze it.

Her mind was racing, berating her for having gone into that horrendous battlefield, for picking out that glaive and wanting to use it so badly… but most of all because she never fought the circumstances and sought Emma out. Faced with the blonde again, this time as a grown up woman, things like gender, status and enemies seemed very unimportant.

Why hadn't she taken the time to get to know this intriguing woman? Now, she would never have a chance! Emma would die here, at her feet and Regina would forever be haunted by the loss of someone she never even got the chance to truly get to know. She screamed. She screamed out her anger and her fear and her longing.

When her voice broke from the screaming she sobbed, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I killed you. I'm sorry that I never came back for you."

But Emma didn't reply. Her eyes looked dim and her hands were no longer gripping the wound on her neck. Regina couldn't tell if she was still breathing, but if she was, she wouldn't be for long.

As she wiped away falling tears, Regina suddenly remembered. This place. This was where they went to see the witch. Could she help? Would she? Did she even still live here? Regina closed her eyes and tried to remember how they had walked to the hut. When she was convinced she could picture it in her mind she grabbed on to Emma's lifeless hand and transported them there.

They appeared in that same dark hut and Regina noticed she was shivering with fear, but this time it had nothing to do with the hut or the witch, she was only frightened of what she had done and who she had lost.

"Well now… what have we here?" A woman's voice croaked.

Regina wiped her wet cheeks and stood up, drawing herself to her full height and using her most regal posture as she looked to the dark corner which hid the speaker.

"Witch? Show yourself! I have a request!"

The older woman stepped out of the dark and grinned. "Oh save your breath, pretty little murderer. I know who you are and who this is. I have foreseen this and I've been waiting for you both."

"It… It wasn't  _murder_ , it was war," Regina croaked in a guilt-ridden voice and tried to keep more tears from falling down her cheeks.

The witch shrugged with a malicious grin. "Well the result was the same. One dead half of the fated lovers."

"D-dead?" Regina stammered and now lost control of the tears that fell freely down her face.

"Well, as good as… yes. But that is why you are here…  _your Majesty_. You want her brought back, don't you? And your pale, bloodless magic can't do it. But I can. Do you want me to save her?"

"Yes! I'll give you anything!" Regina pleaded.

"Ha! Well now. It just so happens that I have been wanting to make a new life for myself and that takes riches. But you see, I don't much like gold, no, I like jewellery. Use that nifty, fancy magic of yours and transport all the jewellery in the royal collection to me. There's no hurry though, your knight isn't going anywhere," the scruffy witch said as she pointed to Emma's body on the floor.

"What? The Crown jewellery? Even the actual crowns? But… but.., my mother would disown me," Regina shrilled.

"Considering how she shuns you and despises you… would you notice the difference? All you would be giving up was that cushy castle of yours, surely your true love is worth that? Any anyway, you said you'd give me anything to bring you your fated love back… well this is the only price I'll accept. Take it or leave it!"

Regina looked down at the blonde with the blood still seeping out of her swan-like neck and the decision was suddenly easy. She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. When the purple smoke cleared at their feet, the floor was suddenly strewn with necklaces, sceptres, crowns, rings and diadems.

"Good. Very good. Now, to get your darling knight back you only have to let true love do its magic."

Regina stared at the shabby witch with incredulity. "Don't tell me children's tales about true love's kiss!"

"Well no, it's not quite that nice and tidy, your Nibs. Not when one the parties is either dead or at least  _very_  close to it. No, we will need more of you for this.  _Quite literally_."

Regina wiped her nose with the back of her hand, too upset to care about acting ladylike, and then she glared at the witch. "What  _exactly_  do you mean?"

"Well now, you already have the tears at hand and then there is the sweet moisture of your mouth, which will come into the kiss. However there is a third liquid needed for you to prove your love," the other woman said with a filthy, suggestive grin.

Regina looked shocked and disgusted. "No! Not that... you can't expect me to get aroused now!"

The woman cackled at that Regina had fallen into her trap. " _Aroused_? Oh, who said anything about that, your Royal Highness? I meant  _blood_. Honestly, you inbred royalty are all the same, dirty minds the lot of ya!"

Regina clenched her fists. She wanted nothing more than to aim a fireball at this woman's tangled, dirty hair. But she needed the disgusting bitch and so she bit her tongue. In fact, she bit her tongue until she tasted iron. She brought her fingers up to her mouth to feel the damage and when they came back crimson the witch laughed.

"Well done, your murdering Majesty! There's the blood then. Let's get on with this so you two can leave and stop soiling my hut with blood and tears. Take some of that blood and smear it across the gash on the knight's neck."

Regina quickly knelt down, her armour clanking as she did. She wiped her wet cheek and then spread the tears over the long cut on Emma's neck.

The witch had started chanting something under her breath but paused to hiss, "now the blood!"

As the low chanting continued, Regina rubbed her fingers hard on her bleeding tongue. Mainly to try and get as much blood as she could but also because the pain felt deserved after what she had done. When her fingers were covered in her hot, red blood she brought them to Emma's cold skin and smeared the red over the tears and Emma's own congealed blood.

She sat back up and assumed that the next step would be a kiss on the lips. She licked her lips, spreading her saliva and blood on them but was surprised when the witch stopped the chanting and said, "now kiss the wound. Pepper it with wet kisses, if they are not wet it won't work. Get to it, wench!"

Regina thought about kissing the gaping wound of someone probably dead and hesitated for two heartbeats before putting her hesitation aside and bowing low to cover Emma's wound in kisses, pausing only to wet her lips occasionally.

As she kept kissing, trying to cover every single bit of it, she felt tears streaming down endlessly on her cheeks. Her mind was begging for this to work, begging for another chance to get to be under the gaze of those beautiful green eyes.

Suddenly she heard the witch's chanting grow louder and the ground seemed to shake. Everything in the hut trembled and the pool of blood around Emma seemed to be moving. In fact, it  _was_  moving. The blood seemed to flow back towards Emma and soon it travelled up her body and began to pour back in through her wound.

The witch's chants were so loud now that they were ringing in Regina's ears. Still, she kept her eyes trained on Emma and the blood that was filling the blonde's body once more.

Regina knew that Emma had lost a lot of blood on the battlefield and realised that it would probably not come back. Even if Emma was brought back to life, she would be weak as a kitten for quite a while. It didn't matter. Regina had caused this and she was sure as hell going to fix it. She would read all her magic books to find a way to make someone more blood-filled again.

The witch ended her shouted chants by stamping her foot loudly on the ground three times. On the third stomp Emma's eyes opened and she stared around her in fear.

Regina was there and with tears once more flooding down her face she sobbed, "everything is fine. You're safe. I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you. I'm so sorry, my sweet. You are going to be alright."

Emma breathed in shallow little breaths but a small smile ghosted at her lips as she whispered, " _Regina_."

* * *

_And so our two leading ladies left the hut as soon as they could, Regina using her magic to poof them to the garden outside of the manor house where Emma's family lived. She had wanted to poof them inside but feared that as she didn't know the layout of Emma's home, she might transport them straight into a table._

_Snow Charming, maiden name White, hurried out to help the strange woman in dark armour to carry the weak Emma indoors. A few hours later, Emma's father returned home with the news of Glyndebourne's retreat and a shoulder wound._

_After that their night was spent nursing the two injured Charmings and discussing solutions to the fact that Regina could not return home after abandoning the battle to tend to an enemy soldier and then stealing the Crown jewels._

_The only one who slept at all that night was Emma who drifted off into the sleep of the nearly dead a few times and but, to everyone's relief, each time woke shortly with a jolt._

_And so ended the day of The Battle of the Blood._


	4. A new dawn

_When the morning light hit the Charming's manor house, which was owned by their liege lord, it found Emma's parents and Regina all slumped around Emma's bed in various poses. They were all right on the border of sleep but not crossing over and getting any rest._

_Regina had used her magic to transport a few tomes on magic over from their castle and had spent a good few hours of the night pouring over cures for loss of blood._

_Death-cheating Emma was as pale as milk but this morning her eyes fluttered open with a little more strength than they had yesterday._

_Emma's parents couldn't help but notice the tension between the two young women and so, being wise and kind, they decided to start the day's chores quickly and leave the two women to speak._

* * *

Snow Charming's parting words to the hollow eyed brunette sitting by her daughter's side were, "please call us if she takes a turn for the worse."

Regina dipped her head in agreement. "Naturally."

With a swift nod and a last worried look to the woman breathing painstakingly on the bed, Snow took her leave.

Regina let her soft fingers caress Emma's forehead but found it without any signs of fever. If she was to guess, Regina would say that all that was ailing her love was blood loss and fatigue.

Luckily she had found an answer to Emma's low levels of blood. The third book she had worked her way through had the answer, there was indeed a spell, but it was a bit gruesome and not something Regina felt should be done in front of Emma's parents.

Emma's sea-green eyes opened and fixed on Regina and she croaked out, "what are you thinking?"

Regina gave a soft scoff and ran her hand over her eyes. "So many things that I do not know where to start."

With a gesture that took far too much of her waning energy, Emma put her hand over Regina's. "Start with something easy then, and work your way up to the hard things."

Easy? Regina wondered what about the situation they found themselves in was  _easy_? Without thinking she breathed out three words. "I missed you."

Emma gave a weak smile. "Of course! I am highly miss-able."

Regina rolled her eyes and pursed her plump lips, making Emma's weak smile grow a little more.

Regina sat back on the padded chair she had spent the lion share of the night on and let her hands play with the edge of her bodice. A couple of hours into the night, she had magicked herself out of her bloodied armour and into a functional dress before doing the same with Emma.

After a few moments of silence, the only sound the faint rustle of the fabric Regina was fidgeting with, the brunette spoke.

"I know that it sounds ridiculous that I missed you all that time we were apart, but I truly did. I realise that someone you have only met twice should not be on your mind as much as you have been on mine. But Emma, I couldn't put you out of my thoughts. When I finally saw you again, and then thought I had lost you, all the feelings I had kept at bay came flooding back. If I hadn't been busy trying to undo your death I probably would have…"

Emma tilted her head and surveyed Regina. "Would have what?

Regina looked up to the ceiling and chuckled. "I… I don't know. Kissed you? Whisked you off to my bedchambers in my castle? Declared my undying love for a women I don't really know? A woman who I almost killed? Everything is so strange and the more I think about it all, the dizzier I become."

Emma looked intently at Regina and croaked, "then don't think. Just feel. What do you feel, Regina?"

"Love. Uninvited but unwavering love. That and a need for freedom. I have secretly wanted to carve a life out for myself, a life built on my own choices and now… well I cannot return to the castle. My mother can't kill me, if people know I am alive she will have to keep me as a puppet on the throne, but she will make my life a living torment for the rest of her years."

"Then you need to leave."

"Yes. But this fated connection we have, I'm not sure I am strong enough to sever it once more. I am not sure I can leave you behind again," Regina said quietly.

Emma gave a small, sluggish shrug before asking, "who says you have to?"

"Don't be illogical, dear. You have finally been able to be taken seriously as a knight and you have your loving family here, you cannot just… leave."

Emma took a deep, shaky breath and rasped out, "sometimes leaving is not the logical choice but still the one that feels right. Exactly like love. I know loving you is all wrong. You are the enemy, you are a woman and I don't really know you… but still… I know I cannot leave you again either. Our fates are entwined, I suppose."

Regina clasped her hands in her lap and nodded. She knew as much but had hoped that Emma would say it first.

"I'm sorry you are so weak, my love. I… have found a way to solve the problem but I'm afraid it is rather… unsavoury," Regina said with a small grimace.

Emma grinned and asked, "worse than what you had to do to revive me?"

Regina looked painfully embarrassed. "So you were conscious of what was happening at that point?"

"Conscious is the wrong word. I was aware, yes, but not awake. I seemed to be out of my own body, watching the events unfold as in a dream. I saw your tears, your fear and your determination. I knew you would save me."

"Well considering I slayed you, it was the least I could do," Regina said with a wry chuckle.

"So is it worse?" Emma repeated.

"That depends on how you see it.  _It will be_  for the goat."

"Goat?"

"Or pig, the spell isn't picky," Regina said with a sardonic raising of her eyebrows.

"I think I'm starting to see why you didn't speak of this with my parents in the room. I will need the animal's blood won't I?" Emma asked with a disgusted frown.

Regina grimaced and nodded. "We will have to bleed the animal dry. Mix its blood with a few drops of yours and then I will need to recite an incantation and blend the blood, then we need to open one of your veins and allow the blood to slowly flow into you."

"Right," Emma said and swallowed loudly.

Regina grimaced. "Yes."

"That will be vile."

"Yes," Regina repeated.

"No other way?"

Regina gave a small shake on the head. "No."

"So, we'll do this after we have left my parent's house."

"Yes. If you are certain you wish to come with me, that is? Perhaps you should take a few days to ponder the consequences?" Regina asked cautiously.

"No. My future is by your side. I could not be more certain of that. Anyway, we need to leave soon before your mother gets over her sulking rage and comes to find you and drag you home by your hair."

Regina shivered slightly and quietly murmured, "you jest, but you are surprisingly accurate."

"Will your father not miss you?" Emma asked with knitted brows.

"No, I'm afraid that poor Daddy barely remembers me or Mother anymore. The physicians have tried everything but ever since his heart began to falter, his memory has grown more and more hazy. Now he barely knows his own name."

"I'm sorry," Emma said with another deep, shaky breath. It was clear that she was growing tired but didn't want to show it.

"Thank you. He does seem happy enough though, he has discovered the joy of plum jam and now seems joyous as a bird in spring as long as there is plenty of plum jam. Mother will care for him. I have nothing that ties me here. Not if you come with me, but if you do, are you sure you will not resent me for taking you away from your family?"

"We are on our side of the border, which means we will always be closer to my parents than we are to your mother. With your magic we can see my mother and father once in a while. Anyway, I have lived in my father's shadow and under his wing for too long. I need to fly free. Or… graze free or whatever it is I will be doing when I am filled up with goat's blood."

Regina pursed her lips and glared at Emma as she said, "it will be YOUR blood by the time it enters you."

"Well yes, as long as you get the spell right. Otherwise I'll end up as a goat."

Regina slapped Emma's leg softly. "You seem rather goat-ish already, dear."

Emma gave her best imitation of goat sounds and Regina shook her head.

"You need to rest, my sweet," Regina said, her deep voice breaking with tenderness.

"I will when I know that we have decided. Are you going to let me leave with you?"

Regina beamed and seemed to light up the dim room with her heartfelt smile. "Oh Emma, I doubt I could stop you even if I wanted to."

"Good, then I will rest for a spell. Wake me soon and we shall explain this to my parents together. Then we will leave for the open road and you can perform your gory blood-and-goat-trick somewhere out in a field."

Regina looked down at her hands, suddenly serious and scowling slightly. "Emma. I have to warn you… No matter where we go, my mother might find us. She's very powerful."

"Together we will be more powerful. Even if we are just two traveling vagabonds, you will still be my Queen and I will be your knight. I'll find a way to protect you," Emma promised in a drowsy voice.

Regina beamed at her again. "I'm sure you will, just as soon as you have more than dust in your veins!"

Emma wanted to come up with a witty retort, but sleep claimed her and her eyelids slowly closed while a happy smile still played at her pale lips.

* * *

_It is a fact of life that parents have to see their children leave the home. Even swan knights grow into their feathers and fly the nest, and so the Charming's tried not to cry or protest when Emma and Regina said they were leaving, after all they had expected as much when they saw the obvious connection between the two women._

_Snow packed a large satchel full of everything they could need, and a few things they didn't, and with wet eyes she handed it to Regina. The brunette took the satchel gratefully and made two promises, that she would cure Emma and that as soon as the dust settled they would come visit._

_As soon as Emma had rested, eaten and kissed her parents goodbye the two fated lovers began their new life on the roads._

_About an hour into the walk Emma began to falter and they snuck into a field, found the nearest animal, which turned out to be a ram, then Regina magicked up a wooden vat for the blood and started the ceremony. A quarter of an hour later they were back on the road with Emma hale and strong, swinging her sword to ease her stiffened muscles._

_By nightfall they laid camp in a clearing, Regina magicking up some supplies for them and Emma, armed with a crossbow gifted from her mother, painstakingly chasing down a pair of wild rabbits for them to cook over the campfire._

_That night was the first time they made love and it was the strongest experience either of them had experienced. Better than magic, better than swordfights and even better than their chaste kisses._

_As they fell asleep they both had a feeling of freedom and of finding home in each other's arms. The stars shone brighter and perhaps fate sighed a happy sigh, knowing it had done the difficult parts of its labour._


	5. Forging a new life

_The seasons came and went. Every season bringing a visit back to Emma's parents but not one of them bringing a word from Regina's._

_They heard whispers of Regina's mother bringing back a secret daughter born before her marriage and passing her off as of royal blood, but they never investigated it further. It didn't seem to matter as long as Cora didn't want Regina back._

_The war had finally ebbed out, the casualties too great and the kingdoms too evenly matched for it to continue. With the two kingdoms so vulnerable, bigger and more landhungry kingdoms further afar had begun to cast lustful glances at their wartorn lands._

_For these reasons, a fragile truce now stood and both kingdoms benefitted from it as they slowly recovered and began to grow to protect themselves once more._

_Emma and Regina had continued traveling, Emma joining in any tournament they passed and Regina selling make-shift potions, but it wasn't a life that suited them. Especially not Regina who was far too accustomed to soft beds and luxurious meals._

_One day they passed a smithy. The smith was shaping a newly made pair of shearing scissors and Regina watched as he banged the sharp metal that lay on the anvil. That was when the next piece of this fairytale began to fall into place._

* * *

"Regina, are you alright?" Emma asked as she saw Regina stare at the crude shearing scissors.

"I'm… yes, I'm fine," Regina said dazedly and then looked at Emma with excitement. "You must have seen your share of weapons being made?"

"Well, yes of course. I'm a knight and my father was one before me, I have trained with most weapons and gone with my father to commission new swords and shields. In fact, I used to love watching the bladesmiths create new beautiful swords from such humble materials. Why do you ask?"

Regina thought back to the two-handed glaive she had used in battle. She felt a mixture of delight and fear thinking about it, something so beautiful had nearly cost her the happiness she had now. But the thing in itself, the glaive, wasn't to blame.

Regina realised that Emma's knowledge of weapons and ability to quickly pick up new skills combined with her own magic and understanding of aesthetic, would mean that they could create the most amazing weapons. She decided to suggest it to her lover.

"Emma. This truce will not last. One day war will break out again, be it either between our kingdoms or against a foreign enemy. When it does, I believe there might be a market for new weapons. Weapons made by someone who knows how to wield them and inscribed by someone with magic. People would come from all over to buy them!"

Emma looked at Regina in surprise. "Are you suggesting we settle somewhere and become bladesmiths? Bladesmiths who make  _magical_  weapons?"

"Why not? Aren't you tired of running? By now we know that my mother wants nothing to do with me, in fact it wouldn't surprise me if she told our subjects that I died on that battlefield. If we settled somewhere in Glyndebourne it would make it easier for us to visit your parents. Think about it!"

Emma looked at the woman she had begun to think of as her wife, despite that no authority would ever recognize them as married, and knew that Regina was tired of roaming. As a matter of fact, so was she.

The blonde knight allowed herself to see a future where she banged metal into beautiful swords and then let Regina take over and work her magic. They would complement each other as always and they could earn a pretty penny, as Regina had said… the truce would never last.

Emma saw herself wield a perfectly weighed and sharpened sword, watching its magical inscriptions glow in the sunlight, knowing that with her prowess and the sword's magic her blows would always hit home. She could keep her family safe. For some reason Emma could see a boy standing next to her, laughing as the sword swung through the air. A little boy with Regina's dark hair and her own smile. Perhaps it could happen? Perhaps they could have a real home.

Fate had pushed them together, made them fall in love, saved her life and now… perhaps it was offering them a full and happy future? Or maybe fate had stopped its toil that day when she and Regina had finally stopped fighting their love? Maybe now they made their own fortune?

She smiled at Regina and the brunette knew what that smile meant. It was time to settle down and stop struggling. It was time for their happy ending.

* * *

_And so it was that the two young girls, grown women by now, found their happiness with each other. Emma's parents pitched in and bought the two lovers some land near the royal castle of Glyndebourne. That was where they built a cottage, which was later torn down and turned into a manor house, and of course a smithy with a large forge._

_Regina sent letters to Mister Pike, the royal bladesmith and armourer at Blackthorn castle, and he agreed to leave his old post and come and train them both in the art of forging weapons. It took a long time to learn but Regina's magic meant that mistakes were easily rectified with a wave of her hand._

_One day Emma was almost as good a bladesmith as she was a wielder of the blades. Regina sent for books from all over the world and learned all she could about how to inscribe weapons with magic, soon her runes made even a bread knife an impressive weapon._

_Soon their business thrived and their near location to Glyndebourne castle came in handy as the king got to hear about the magic weapons that were forged just on the other side of his moat. After that Emma and Regina found themselves even more sought after, whether it was to create a new zweihander for battle or to make an ornamental staff to be sent as a gift to a foreign monarch. Things were looking up, as we would say._


	6. The fairytale gets its happy ending

_The years passed but our fated lovers stayed healthy and very much in passionate love, the sharing of a bed rarely happening without lovemaking first. They both found pleasure in their work and each other's company and of course in the visits from Emma's parents. They even began to make friends._

_They had everything they could ever wish for now. Or did they?_

* * *

Emma was out in the forge, trying to create a weapon she had never created nor used before, a morning star. The filthy curse words drifting in to the manor house, where Regina stood by the dining table, showed that it wasn't going well.

Regina sniggered to herself as she heard Emma curse the metal which had apparently caused the weapon to be  _all wrong!_

The brunette was opening a new shipment of magic books and just then froze as she noticed a smallish book which had its title embossed in plain copperplate. It looked much more discreet than her usual garish and old magic tomes and she knew for certain she hadn't ordered it.

She read the title of it in her head over and over, trying to make sense of how the book could be there and what it meant. Then she gave her deep, throaty laugh as she realised that this must be her lover's way of asking for what she had wanted for quite some time but never dared to ask for outright.

Regina strode out to Emma with the book in her hand and a huge smile on her face. She could see her darling Emma standing by the forge and staring at the crooked and rather sad-looking morning star, which lay on the ground where Emma had clearly just thrown it in a fit of anger.

In her joy, Regina stopped to take in every detail of the beautiful view. The former Queen could see blonde strands of air loosening from the braid that hung down Emma's back and the profile of her pretty face with its high cheekbones, pretty little nose, pink lips and dimpled chin.

She took in Emma's outfit, the practical daywear of a workman's shirt, belted britches and tall leather boots, all in cream and blue and covered in dust and dirt from work. Regina surveyed the rough yet perfectly fitted garments that were covering the strong but, oh, so feminine body underneath.

The sound of Emma's voice, even if it was cursing up a storm, made her feel calm and happy and even watching Emma's familiar way of moving made her smile all the more.

As she squinted a bit, she could just barely make out the love bite she had left on Emma's neck during their  _actual_  roll in the hay in the manor house's stables yesterday. Just seeing it made her feel that familiar pull in her lower abdomen, but she pushed her burgeoning arousal out of the way. She had to discuss the wonderful matter of this book first.

"Emma," she said with her rich voice dripping with adoration.

The blonde turned around and looked a bit peevish at having been found out in the middle of such an embarrassing failure.

She tucked a loose strand of her flaxen hair behind her ear and replied, "oh, um. Yes, sweet cheeks?"

Regina gave a knowing grin as she purred, "have you ordered any books to be added to my usual shipment from overseas, my love?"

Suddenly Emma understood what the happy, and slightly smug, grin was about and she echoed it as she looped her thumbs into her belt and shook her head with mock-confusion.

"No? That's odd. Because I know for certain that I did not order this particular volume. Do you think the merchant is trying to suggest something, dear?" Regina drawled and held up the book.

Emma walked up to the love of her life, full of swagger and joy at Regina's positive reaction, and took the book from her.

"Hmm. Maybe he is? Maybe he worries we are getting tired of each other's company? Still, now that we have it… we might as well read it and try out some of its methods, right?" Emma said and handed the book back with a satisfied grin.

Regina slapped Emma's hip with the book and smirked as she cooed, "actually, yes! I would like that very much, you mischievous little madam!"

Emma made a grab for her but Regina danced away and returned to the kitchen as she stared at the title of the book.  _'How to create and carry offspring through magic.'_

* * *

_As we watch Regina shake her head and smile, venturing that it won't be long until the two of them become three, we must end our tale._

_For we have reached the happy ending of the two girls whose fates were entwined by love._


End file.
